Pain and guilt can't be taken away with the wave of a magic wand. They're the things we carry with us, the things that make us who we are. If we lose them, we lose ourselves. I don't want my pain taken away! I need my pain!
Interpretation
Pain and guilt are essential parts of our identity and experiences.
This quote emphasizes that pain and guilt are not just burdens to be eliminated but integral to our existence and personal growth. William Shatner reflects on how these feelings shape our character and help define who we are; losing them might mean losing a crucial part of ourselves.
In practice
In a motivational speech about resilience and personal growth.
What have I done? I've blundered my way through life. So I have my picture on the wall. The minute I die, that picture will start to yellow and fade and eventually be gone. Blown in the wind and become part of the molecular structure of something else. These things we see as "success," they're non-accomplishments.
Marriage is a reflection of your life in general: how you treat people, how you argue, how secure you are in your own thoughts. How vehemently do you argue your point of view? With what disdain do you view the other's point of view?
The ability to breathe the air and drink the water will be what the wars will be about from here on in. And it's coming with alarming rapidity.
Don't be afraid of making an ass of yourself. I do it all the time and look what I got.
Has it ever occurred to you that how we deal with death is at least as important as how we deal with life?
It is better to be beautiful than to be good. But... it is better to be good than to be ugly.
The foundation of the Buddha's teachings lies in compassion, and the reason for practicing the teachings is to wipe out the persistence of ego, the number-one enemy of compassion.
My books are not 'political.' I don't make political demands. They actually describe life. But when we look at human life, politics creeps in everywhere.
I'm hoping what all sentient beings hope ... that somehow I'm part of something larger than myself, in which I play a role, an actual role that is somehow intended and meaningful.
I prefer to be accused unjustly, for then I have nothing to reproach myself with, and joyfully offer this to the good Lord. Then I humble myself at the thought that I am indeed capable of doing the thing of which I have been accused.
Christian principles are, admittedly, stricter than the others; but then we think you will get help towards obeying them which you will not get towards obeying the others.
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